....STAR STRUCK CHATTING WITH OUR STAR GUIDE. 5 minute interview with Iñaki .. STAR STRUCK! CHARLA CON EL GUÍA STAR. Entrevista de 5 minutos con Iñaki....

.... Iñaki is the latest member of the team at StarsbyNight. Inaki's storytelling, knowledge and charisma capture the  audience as he enlightens the night with his  light shows and unusual locations to tell us all about the night sky. Come and join him in Spanish on Sunday nights, or in English on Tueday nights.

Tell me, what is the difference between an Astronomer and a Star Guide?

An astronomer is a person who is dedicated to the science and physics of his profession. Imagine! This is not me! I have a basic knowledge of Astronomy and recognise the different places in the night sky. Simply, I enjoy sharing my knowledge with people, in a friendly and fun way. My passion is my job and I love it! 

What started your interest in the night sky?

From a young age I liked to stop and observe the stars, but the first time I began to understand the constellations and how to orientate myself by the stars was whilst I was on a survival course in the wild.

Where are you from?

I was born in Benicasim, a small village on the east coast of Spain, just above Valencia.

What attracted you to Fuerteventura?

I was in Nicaragua, when a friend told me that Fuerteventura had good waves for surf and good wind for kiting. I checked online and discovered that the island is also a Starlight Reserve!! In a few days I had bought my plane ticket and I am here!

What can you see in Fuerteventura in the sky?

The great thing about Fuerteventura is the clear skies and if you move away from the urbans centres where there is little light pollution than you can enjoy the starry skies that are not easy to find anymore! 

Where else/other countries have you been teaching people about the night?

I created my own way of communicating to the people about the stars above in Andalusia, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras.

Have you gone anywhere unusual?

I have visited some 30 countries till now; Asia, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean, different islands in the Indian Ocean and Central and North America….many beautiful places, always travelling with my rucksac, but unusual? My travels are quite normal for a person who is accustomed to travel, we are all on planet Earth. I would like one day to see planet Earth from Space. hahaha. 

What are constellations?

The sky is divided into 88 parts and each of these parts forms a group of stars that we call constellations. The oldest civilsations named these constealltions after an animal or person (some need more imagination than others), to make it easier for the people to remember them. They are also a great point of reference for astrnomers of all epcos, even today.  

Imagine that I ask you where is Madrid. Well, the answer will be in Europe, and in Spain more specifically.

Now, if the question is where is the Galaxy M31, also known as Andromeda. Well you must look to the part of the sky where you will find the Adromeda constealtion and M31 is specifically situated close to the star Andromeda. Like this all astrnomers know the place in the sky that they are looking for.

How many constellations are there?

There are 88 different constellations between the northern and southern hemisphere.  In the northern hemisphere, the most common visible are the Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. These constealtions are visible throughout the whole year. The Ursa Major is very easy to recognize as it’s stars are very bright, compared to Ursa Minor that has less bright stars, however, it does have our main star, Polaris, the polar star that always shows the north. 

Do you need a telescope to see the night sky?

No, the only thing necessary is that we learn and enjoy the night sky with our eyes. Other tools, like telescopes and binoculars help us to observe deeper space objects that we find further away or less bright. But to start with this view is more than sufficient.

Any funny stories that you can tell us?

I remember when travelling with my equipment that I have created to share astronomical information, a briefcase with strange lights. I would always cause a stir at the airports, with security thinking I had some kind of bomb. It always ended well with a little display of how my materials work capturing the interest of everyone around.  In the Dominican Republic I even bumped in to one such “observer”.  It was my briefcase that he remembered! We  become good friends. 

Thanks Iñaki

.. 

Iñaki es el último miembro del equipo de StarsbyNight. Iñaki de la narración, el conocimiento y carisma capturar a la audiencia mientras se ilumina la noche con sus espectáculos de luz y lugares inusuales para contarnos todo sobre el cielo nocturno.  Venir y unirse a él en español domingos por la noche o en Inglés martes por la noche.  

¿Dime cuál es la diferencia entre una guía de astronomía estrella?

Un astrónomo es una persona que se dedica a la ciencia o física de forma profesional…imagino! Yo no soy nada de eso,tengo conocimientos básicos sobre astronomía y reconozco los diferentes lugares en el cielo nocturno. Simplemente disfruto compartiendo mis conocimientos con la gente común de una forma agradable y divertida así que mi pasión se ha convertido en mi trabajo, y me encanta!

¿Lo que comenzó su interés en el cielo nocturno?

Desde pequeño me ha gustado pararme a observar las estrellas pero la primera vez que comencé a entender sobre las constelaciones fue durante un curso de supervivencia en la naturaleza, ahí nos enseñaron a orientarnos por las estrellas. 

¿De donde eres?

He nacido en Benicasim, un pequeño pueblo en la costa este de España, justo por encima de Valencia.

¿Lo que atrajo a Fuertenventura?

Estaba en Nicaragua y un chico al que conocí me dijo que en Fuerteventura había buenas olas para surfear y buen viento para hacer kite, luego miré en internet y vi que era una reserva Starlight. En pocos días compré el billete de avión y aquí estoy. 

Qué se puede ver en Fuerteventura en el cielo?

Lo bueno que tiene Fuerteventura son sus cielos despejados y si te alejas un poco de los centros urbanos la poca contaminación lumínica te deja disfrutas de unos cielos estrellados que no es fácil de encontrarlos.

¿En qué otro / otros países lleva enseñando a la gente acerca de la noche?

He realizado actividades de observación de estrellas en Andalucía, República Dominicana, Nicaragua y Honduras. 

¿Ha ido a cualquier lugar inusual?

He visitado unos 30 países hasta ahora. He visitado Asia, Africa, Europa, el Caribe, diferentes islas en el océano Índico, Centro américa y norte america…muchos lugares bonitos, siempre viajando con mi mochila pero…inusual? Bastante usuales para una persona que está acostumbrada a viajar, eso sí, todos ellos dentro del planeta tierra, me encantaría un día poder ver la tierra desde el espacio, jajaja. 

 ¿Cuáles son las constelaciones?

El cielo está dividido en 88 partes y cada una de esas partes la forma una agrupación de estrellas a la que llamamos constelación. Las antiguas civilizaciones les han dado la forma de algún objeto o persona, (eso sí, con mucha imaginación) característica así es más fácil para la gente de recordarla. Y sirve a los astrónomos para saber dónde mirar en el cielo. 

Imaginen que os pregunto donde está Madrid. Pues la respuesta sería en el continente Europeo y en España más concretamente. 

Ahora si os pregunto dónde está la galaxia M 31 (también conocida como galaxia de Andrómeda). Pues debéis mirar al lado del cielo donde se encuentra la constelación de Andrómeda y más concretamente cerca de la estrella μ Andromedae. Así los astrónomos saben a que lugar del cielo deben observar para encontrar el objeto en concreto.

¿Cuántas constelaciones?

En el cielo existen 88 constelaciones diferentes entre el hemisferio norte y el hemisferio sur.  En el hemisferio norte es posible que la más común sea la de la Osa Mayor y la Osa Menor. Son constelaciones que podemos ver a lo largo de todo el año. La Osa Mayor es muy fácil de reconocer ya que todas sus estrellas son muy brillantes y las estrellas de la Osa Menor son menos brillantes pero su estrella principal es Polaris, la estrella polar, que siempre nos señalará el norte. 

¿Necesita un telescopio para ver el cielo nocturno?

Nada de eso, lo único que necesitamos para aprender y disfrutar el cielo nocturno son nuestros ojos. Otras herramientas como telescopios o prismáticos nos ayudarán a ver objetos que se encuentran más lejos o son menos brillantes. Pero para comenzar con nuestra vista es más que suficiente.

¿Alguna historia divertida que nos pueden decir?

Pues recuerdo que cuando viajaba con mi material para divulgar información sobre astronomía tenía un maletín con unas luces un poco peculiar. Y en los aeropuertos siempre me paraban pensando que era una bomba o algo raro, siempre tenía que hacerles una pequeña exposición sobre la actividad y la gente de aduana terminaban muy interesados. Incluso una vez, en República Dominicana, coincidí en un restaurante dos meses después de pasar por el aeropuerto con un hombre que me reconoció tras verme en el aeropuerto haciendo la exposición en la aduana. El hombre me dijo, ¿tu viajas con un maletín muy raro verdad? Nos hicimos buenos amigos. 

Gracias Iñaki.

....

BUYING A TELESCOPE

I wrote this article in 2012 when StarsbyNight was just a passionate project that Karen (founder of SBN) would brainstorm with me on how to make her passion into a reality. We were both uber excited and it was a massive learning curve, even in buying equipment. After the years have passed we know a lot more and technology and equipment and brands  are evolving but the theory and idea behind buying your first telescope still apply. 

I just want to add , just like buying a new camera lens, that the most important characteristic of a telescope is its aperture — the diameter of its light-gathering lens or mirror, often called the objective. Look for the telescope's specifications near its focuser, at the front of the tube, or on the box. The aperture's diameter (D) will be expressed either in millimeters.  Your telescope should have at least 2.8 inches (70 mm) aperture — and preferably more.

The little bit I know about buying a telescope - 21/12/2012

Let me start by saying I am no expert. My experience in the past is selling and using photographic equipment in a professional capacity. I wanted to buy a telescope. After doing a lot of research I found its really similar to buying a camera. My colleagues are in the process of buying a high end telescope for our clients to view the night sky here in Fuerteventura, but I would like one so I can learn at home in the meantime. Sure I can use the fancy one they will buy, but I’m occasional user, I have more of an amateur interest rather than a professional one.

Questions I used to always ask my customers in photography. ‘What is the main purpose for?’ ‘In what conditions?” ‘How often would you use it? ‘Is it for you? ” ‘what previous experience do you/or other person have?”  “What do you really want to do with a it?” ‘how much money do you want to spend?”

I’ve done a lot of research. What I used to find often with cameras is people have too much money, buy the latest thing that has all the bells and whistles and never use it to its full capacity and it sits in the corner of the room gathering dust and just looking pretty. It appears its the same with telescopes. I also asked an ex colleague who worked for a company who specialized in astronomy gear and he said the same. He said. “ If someone wanted to spend under £200 I would probably recommend a good pair of binoculars that last a lifetime. Often what happens is the  kind of telescope people think they want and what they really need are two different things.”

I was told do not even consider a telescope that advertises it power on the box (300x, 500x,650x, 725x).  Avoid telescopes that are advertised by their magnification — especially implausibly high powers like 600×. For most purposes, a telescope's maximum useful magnification is 50 times its aperture in inches (or twice its aperture in millimeters).  Even the best telescopes are limited to about 50x-75x per inch (25.4mm) of aperture. The big number with a ‘x’ after it, I was told  is actually a  marketing ploy and high-powered scopes tend to have fixed eyepieces. What you want is a removable eyepiece. Also even though these type of telescopes appear attractive advertised with a high number, all this means is the high magnification the light is gathered and spread over a larger area making it fuzzy and faint.  You should look for the magnification in the eyepiece. You calculate a telescope's maximum useful magnification by multiplying the size of the lens or mirror in inches by 50.  I was also told that alower power/magnification in the telescope tends to provide a better viewing experience.

Start with binoculars. If you don’t have much money and don’t want to spend over the £200 mark you may be happier with a very good pair of binos. Even for travel its actually quite a good idea to have a back up anyways of about 10x50, 7x50 for a more general use or an 8x56 or a 9x63 for something a bit more ‘astro’ and its less heavier, but can be slightly expensive. Buy something you can use, not something you will get frustrated with . If it rattles when you shake it, try a different pair of binos. Good telescopes will be expensive regardless of the type. Cheap binoculars are much, much more useful than cheap telescopes and  good binoculars can last you forever.

What you can see with a pair of binoculars look at this link: http://www.lightandmatter.com/binosky/binosky.html

binocular basics: http://www.chuckhawks.com/binocular_basics.htm

Should I get a refractor or a reflector telescope?

Now I had to get some help to explain this from another website as I couldn’t think of the any other way to explain it but share someone else’s informationhttp://www.astronomyforbeginners.com/equipment/telescope.php:

Reflector

Reflectors have one open end and a curved mirror at the back. Light is reflected and focused by this mirror onto a secondary mirror, which reflects it up into the eyepiece. Refractors are generally cheaper per inch of aperture and are in general better for the beginner on a budget, but aren't very good for ground observing, as the image is upside-down.

Refractor

A refractor has a lens at the front which refracts light from the stars and focuses it at the eyepiece (often by means of a 45° mirror-in which case the image is reversed left-to-right). The image is the right way up meaning that these are better suited if you want to do ground observing as well. If the optics are good, then refractors can form better images, but are usually more expensive per inch of aperture.

Reflector telescopes have one optical surface (less mirrors) and tend to be cheaper and have no chormatic abberration. The mirror in this type of telescope may need recoating after years of use but if you are a beginner like me and will not use it outside on a rough surface (and tend to use it on your balcony like me) and not have much money then these type are a quick fix to look at the sky.

Refracting telescopes the light bends from one medium to another. A refractor uses two lenses. At one end, is the larger lens is called the objective. On the other end is the lens you look through, called the ocular or eyepiece. Also an advantage of a refractor is that by default they have a totally clear aperture and are low maintenance. A disadvantage is that some telescope lens/glass pieces will give off  chormatic aberrations. The only way I can describe it with my experience is light fringing around a subject like you get where you take a photo with a cheap lens on a sunny day sometimes the object has a faint fuzz around it, also kind of like a lens flare.  Inexpensive refractors have problems with false color, but they are often more compact and therefore better for traveling. Also, refractors tend to give more pleasing views when used in the daylight. Most reflectors tend to be very large by comparison, but will have better light gathering capability.  I was also told that whether buying either telescope look out for2.4 inch (60mm) and 3.1 inch(80mm) refractors and 4.5 inch and 6 inch reflectors are popular for most amateurs. Your new scope should have at least 1 eyepiece, and often 2 or 3. An eyepiece is rated by millimeters (mm), with smaller numbers indicating higher magnification. A 25mm eyepiece is common and appropriate for most beginners.While a higher magnification eyepiece may provide more details, it may be harder to keep an object in view, unless you are using a motorized mount. They also require the scope to gather more light to provide a clearer image.

A lower power eyepiece makes it easier to find objects and keep them in view. Lower magnification eyepieces require less light, so viewing dimmer objects is easier.

Remember the view through a telescope with not be exact to what you see in astrophotography on the internet or magazines. Planets will be tinier and some not in fantastic colours .

I started getting lost looking at all the brands. It seemed for over the £200 mark, the Meade does a introductory good telescope for anything over the £350 you are looking at more advanced Meade, Newtonians, Dobinsonians and Stellarvuemodels.  Lower cost options can include Maksutov-Cassegrains and “long” achromatic refractors.  Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes (SCT) can also offer pleasing views of the planets.

I recommend trying before buying. Observe through as many telescopes as you can, and ask as many questions as you can think of. Ask about setup time, maintenance and accessories.

This is a great list of things to help you set up your basic kit: http://www.astronomy.com/Equipment/How-To.aspx

To me it really is buying an extension of my camera equipment. Learning about glass wear, apertures and brands from various websites, magazines and asking professionals has helped me. Hopefully it won't just sit in the corner of my room.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional but someone who is interested. Within our team we have a professional astronomer but I write this article out of pure interest and passion for a subject am learning about.

100000 STARS CHROME WORKSHOP EXPERIMENT

http://workshop.chromeexperiments.com/stars/ http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=noobfromua 100,000 Stars is an interactive visualization of the stellar neighborhood created for the Google Chrome web browser. It shows the real location of over 100,000 nearby stars. Zooming in reveals 87 individually identified stars and our solar system. The galaxy view is an artist's rendition. FullHD Video preview.

We love this. Fantastic idea!

Called 100,000 stars  this is a fully-immersive 3D plot of (in fact) 119,617 stars. This is an interactive visualization of the stellar neighborhood created for the Google Chrome web browser/App. It shows the real location of nearby stars. Zooming in reveals 87 individually identified stars and our solar system. The galaxy view is an artist's rendition.

According to Aaron Koblin's blog posting to announce the project, "Visualizing the exact location of every star in the galaxy is a problem of, well, galactic proportions. With over 200 billion stars, capturing every detail of the Milky Way currently defies scientists and laptops alike. However, using imagery and data from a range of sources, including NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), we were recently able to take one small step in that direction by plotting the location of the stars closest to our sun.

"The result is a new Chrome Experiment called 100,000 Stars that visualizes the stellar neighborhood. Using your mouse or trackpad, you can zoom in and out to explore our galaxy. Zooming in reveals the names of the most prominent stars close to our sun - click each name to learn more about it and see a digital rendition."

Koblin concludes, "As you explore this experiment, we hope you share our wonder for how large the galaxy really is. It's incredible to think that this mist of 100,000 measurable stars is a tiny fraction of the sextillions of stars in the broader universe." Author: Google Data Arts Team Sources: Programmed by some space enthusiasts at Google. Galaxy images provided by Wikipedia and ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5m/R.Gendler and A. Hornstrup. Star renderings derived from Wikipedia Sun images courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams. Star data provided by: HYG Database, by Astronomy Nexus Gliese/Jahreiß Catalog, by Dr. Wilhelm Gliese and Dr. Hartmut Jahreiss Bright Star Catalog (5th edition), by Dr. E. Dorrit Hoffleit and Dr. Wayne H. Warren Jr, and the Department of Astronomy at Yale University HIPPARCOS Catalog (3rd Edition) by the European Space Agency.

Click on this link and you can play with the real thing:

https://stars.chromeexperiments.com